Due to a lot of ice chunks and now single digits temps, Huckleberry had several abrasions on his pads yesterday at the park. So for general health reasons as well his possible bleeding disorder I'm trying to introduce him to boots.

He hates having his feet handled no matter how much we have handled them and gave him treats but he loves feeding time.

Tonight I leashed him, let him sniff the boots and would "yes" him and treat him but still he wasn't happy about me putting them on his front feet, so I stopped there. I gave lots of treats, I then played tug with him but he would try biting them off so I would do the "leave it" command and treat. I then went thru his feeding routine with them on, which he ate stopping only once to try to pull them off. I then threw a ball in the house with him a little bit and once I felt he kind of "ignored" them I had him sit and hand me a paw and removed both of them.

Any suggestions or advice? If I stay this course should I do all four next time? He is a bit of a timid boy at now 8 months old.

It's obvious that there are many experienced, well informed, professional, and knowledgable people on this forum. I know that it gets frustrating to answer either the same questions over and over or know that some people are only asking in hopes that you tell them only what they want to hear.

I did a search and found a topic on types of dog boots but not on how to train a dog on wearing them, so it can't be that I'm asking a question that's already been answered.

I haven't given anyone any reason to think that I wouldn't want to hear your advice, so it shouldn't be that.

I see other people asking training questions and they have even been rude in the past but yet they get advice.

I'm only pushing this because I really want to get him trained ASAP since its going to be a long winter and my health will not allow me to walk him great distances. I would like to get him out playing and he adores the snow.

I don't think you're being ignored. I don't have any experience with booties so I can only guess at this. I think I'd just keep handling his feet and getting the booties on him. Maybe as soon as he's booted up get him out and start walking to take his mind off of them. I bet he'll walk funny at first but after some time he'll get used to them......hopefully.

Join Date: Sep 2009

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My experience is a quick walk immediately on leash works best. A gentle, well-timed correction with the leash everytime your dog attempts to reach down to take off the boots will help with conditioning.

My dog wears boots in the winter and I never bothered to condition him to them. I put them on him and immediately took him outside to hit tennis balls with a tennis racquet (his favorite game). Though he didn't care for them at first it didn't take long for him to associate the boots with his favorite game.

Getting the boots to stay on can be a trick especially if he is running in them, you may need to try a couple different kinds to find a pair that works. They also will become loaded up with snow so be sure to watch for that. If your dog has his dewclaws be very mindful of them when putting the boots on, the boots can easily catch them. I have found the boots to be easier to put on when the dog is lying down. How old is your dog, has he always been sensitive about having his feet handled, or did he have a bad experience (nail clipping)?

Join Date: Sep 2007

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My dog wears boots in the winter and I never bothered to condition him to them. I put them on him and immediately took him outside to hit tennis balls with a tennis racquet (his favorite game). Though he didn't care for them at first it didn't take long for him to associate the boots with his favorite game.

Getting the boots to stay on can be a trick especially if he is running in them, you may need to try a couple different kinds to find a pair that works. They also will become loaded up with snow so be sure to watch for that. If your dog has his dewclaws be very mindful of them when putting the boots on, the boots can easily catch them. I have found the boots to be easier to put on when the dog is lying down. How old is your dog, has he always been sensitive about having his feet handled, or did he have a bad experience (nail clipping)?

He is eight months old. We handled his feet a lot and he is fine with massages but if you go any further he jerks away and goes crazy. I think his first experience at petsmart might have been bad. Now we take him to the vet and they are slower and gentler. We also visit the vet on a regular basis and have them give him paw massages with high value treats.